Why did Stalemate develop on the western front?

Another reason why Stalemate developed was because the Russian troops mobilised themselves so quickly so German troops were not focused on France, as they turned their attention on to what Russia was doing.

This is what Barbara Tuchman said 'Russia's loyal launching of an unready offensive drew German troops away.' They were now fighting a war on two fronts.

Another reason why Stalemate developed on the western front was because the British and Russian troops arrived at the battle of Marne. Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914. The battle of the Marne was between August and September; the Germans advanced across Belgium but were held up briefly by the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 23 August. The British then retreated south to join the French. The Germans marched into France, but they were forced, because of the lack of soldiers, to sweep east of Paris, rather than west, and they failed to encircle the city. The French armies retreated from the German forces were reinforced by the French troop who failed to take Alsace-Lorraine under the Plan XVII. General Joffre inspired the French armies to resist the German advance, and he rushed reserved troops to the front from Paris, using taxis when necessary. He ordered that 'a unit which can no longer advance must at all costs retain the ground it has gained and rather than retire, be killed on the spot.' Over the four days 5-9 September, at the Battle of the Marne, the exhausted Germans were thrown back from the Marne River. They began to dig trenches to defend themselves this is one of the reasons why Stalemate developed on the western front.

Another reason why Stalemate developed on the western front was because Moltke lost control of the army because he was too far away. J.M Winter who wrote 'The Experience of World War 1' said 'Moltke could not obtain enough information to direct the campaign. The German army had tried to do the impossible.' Stalemate developed because Moltke was too far away to tell the German army what to do and where to go, so they started to dig trenches to protect them.

The Germans lines of supplies were too long and overstretched so the German troops didn't have the equipment and the food that they desperately needed. So they had to wait for the supplies to catch up with them. This meant that the vital speed advantage was lost.

Also the Race to the Sea also caused Stalemate. The battle of the Marne was a turning point, the Schlieffen Plan had failed. Germany was caught up in a two front war, worse still, the German general realise that they could not break through the enemy lines. Moltke was replaced by a new commander. Falkenhayn, who decided to try outflank (get round the end of) his enemy's lines. The charge began on 12 October. It became known as 'the race to the sea.' As the Germans charged west towards the sea, the British and French moved troops to block them whenever it seemed that the Germans were about to break through. One observe at the time called these 'the Railway Battle of Northern France,' because both sides moved their troops by rail. This tired the troops out as they were constantly on the move or fighting so Stalemate set in. This stopped them aiming for their original position.

The Battle of Ypres was also another cause of Stalemate. The Battle of Ypres happened between 12 October to the 11 November 1914. The BEF lost around 50,000 men and the Germans probably 100,000, but British (led by Lt Gen Haig in this area) held this important ground. They kept control of the English Channel ports, which meant they could be supplied with equipment and reinforcements. By November 1914 it was deadlock. The BEF had been decimated. The French had already suffered around 1 million dead or wounded in just 10 weeks. Despite this, the French army tried to break through the German lines in Anton and Champagne in December, but they were beaten back with heavy loses. As 1914 ended, the fighting had developed Stalemate.

So Stalemate had developed on the Western Front because of many different reasons. One was that the German troops were just too exhausted to fight and started to dig trenches as this was the only way to defend them so they wouldn't be killed. The failure of the Schlieffen Plan led to the German troops being exhausted and a fruitless race to the sea, which lead to both sides digging trenches. All of these factors together caused stalemate to develop.

By Andrea Streets